Common household articles adopt a number of hinge structures, which are applied between fixed members and pivotal members to allow relative pivotal movement between both members.
Describing the operation of articles adopting the above hinge structures more specifically by way of examples, the examples may include certain operations such as opening/closing of a cover in an electronic article and vertical adjustment of a flat visual display device. In particular, the present invention relates to a hinge structure, which call be more suitably applied to a flat visual display device.
Further, since the flat visual display device has a considerable amount of weight, the hinge structure needs a braking member for receiving frictional force so that the weight of the flat visual display device can be supported. Also, the hinge structure is generally provided with an elastic member for supporting the weight of the flat visual display device together with the braking member for receiving the frictional force.
Examples of the conventionally proposed hinge structures include those disclosed in Korean Laid-Open Utility Model Registration Application No. 20200110000941 and 20200110000942. In particular, Korean Laid-Open Patent Application No. 1020000028262 discloses an example of hinge structure proposed for application to a visual display unit of an LCD.
However, in the hinge devices proposed in the related art, a rotation shaft inserted into a central axis of the hinge is inconveniently cut into a certain configuration of flat panel.
Further, the hinge structure is so configured to carry out braking by using frictional force generated at both ends of the rotation shaft. The frictional force applied under this configuration is short for supporting the weight of the flat visual display device.
Also, in order to sufficiently strengthen the insufficient frictional force, it is inconveniently required to tighten fastening members such as bolt at both ends of the rotation shaft. When the bolt is loosened from the strongly tightened position, the frictional force also rapidly drops disadvantageously failing to support the weight of the flat visual display device in a sufficient degree.
The present invention has been made to solve the above problem of the related art and it is therefore an object of the invention to provide a hinge structure for a flat visual display device capable of imparting a suitable area to a braying member to which frictional force can be applied so as to more stably support the weight of the flat visual display device.
It is another object of the invention to provide a hinge structure for a flat visual display device capable of reducing the number of washers placed in a boundary face between fixed and rotating members so as to overcome die difficulty in a manufacturing process.
It is further another object of the invention to provide a hinge structure for a flat visual display device which defines a point of generating frictional force, i.e. braking force, into a face contacting with a braking member which is predetermined in the outer circumference of a braking member so as to prevent weakening of the braking force set according to the weight of the flat visual display device thereby prolonging the life time.